As Season 13 kicks off, several funny guest stars have signed on to helm the show as Wendy Williams focuses on her health.
Wendy Williams' absence from her daytime talk show will continue through part of November. It was announced on Tuesday that a number of guest stars have been tapped to take over the reins of The Wendy Williams Show well into next month.
As Leah Remini stepped in to host the season 13 premiere on Monday -- and will continue to fill in through Friday -- comedian Whitney Cummings will be taking over the role for a week, from Monday, Oct. 25 through Oct. 29.
The actress and stand-up comic -- who also hosted her own E! talk show, Love You, Mean It -- shared a statement about temporarily helming the long-running daytime series.
"In my opinion, nobody is more entertaining or authentic than Wendy Williams," Cummings shared. "As an avid fan, it is surreal to sit in for Wendy, but as someone who has been a guest on the show so many times, I feel confident that my relentless habit of speaking candidly, often to the point of self-sabotage, may go over well with her fans."
"Each episode I do will be in celebration of her fearlessness, and the lessons I’ve learned from her fearless feedback and advice," Cummings continued in her statement. "I’d like to do whatever I can to make her life easier while she recovers so she can come back stronger and more powerful than ever."
Starting Monday, Nov. 1, actress and Dish Nation co-host Sherri Shepherd is set to guest host for the week. Shepherd previously filled in for Williams during a health-related hiatus two years ago.
"I had such a great time when I hosted the show in 2019 and I'm flattered that Wendy and the producers put their trust in me to fill in again," Shepherd shared in a statement. "I'm sending my love and well wishes out to her."
Last week, the show shared with fans that Williams is still on the mend.
"Wendy continues to be under medical supervision and meets with her medical team on a daily basis," the show's statement on Instagram read. "She is making progress but is experiencing serious complications as a direct result of Graves' disease and her thyroid condition. It has been determined that more time is needed before she is able to return to her live hosting duties."
"We want her health to be her top priority," the statement continued. "As soon as she's ready, she will be back in her treasured purple chair. We very much appreciate the respect for Wendy's privacy, as well as all the good wishes from her fans, station partners and advertisers."
In mid-September, the show revealed that Williams tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19. The program then subsequently postponed its Sept. 20 season premiere date to Oct. 4. They then postponed the premiere again to Oct. 18.
Before news broke that Williams had COVID-19, The Wendy Williams Show released a statement saying she was dealing "with some ongoing health issues and is undergoing further evaluations." Then, following the news of Williams' coronavirus battle, TMZ reported that she was voluntarily hospitalized for a psychiatric evaluation.
For more on Williams' health battle, see the video below.
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